


Rapunzel

by PwoperNinjaElf



Category: Muse
Genre: Alternate Universe, Fairy Tale Retellings, First Kiss, First Time, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-07-07
Updated: 2013-07-07
Packaged: 2017-12-17 23:49:52
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,434
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/873311
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PwoperNinjaElf/pseuds/PwoperNinjaElf
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Well Rapunzel. And yes, I went there.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is my take on a classic fairy tale for the stellarclouds June challenge. It's just a silly bit of nonsense that was not intended to be taken seriously. Hope you enjoy! <3

Once long ago, a young child with locks of golden blonde was stolen by an evil ogre and carted off to a high and distant tower, to be locked up as prisoner and to never escape. Waiting and hoping that someday, someone would come to the rescue.  
  
This was a well-known tale that a young prince had been brought up being told, for the child had been taken when the prince had been of similar age. Now fully grown though- and to be quite frank, just plain bored- the noble prince had decided to set off in search of the distant tower and the golden prisoner within.  
  
Prince Matthew came from a peaceful, small, coastal kingdom; in other words boredom-central for one as fidgety and keen for adventure as he was, so the whole quest was just the task for him to undertake. The time had finally come for him to prove himself as a good future ruler and- more importantly to him- to gain some experience and to prove his independence from his overbearing parents. He was tired of constantly being babied as their youngest, it was time for him to also step out of his brother's shadow and what better way than to rescue the fabled tower prisoner?!  
  
Plus it probably wouldn't hurt if she turned out to be on the attractive side, he could do with someone fair at his side; it would be like hitting two birds with one stone. Though for now, all he knew were the tales of fantastically golden hair- hence the poor child's original reason for captivity by the ogre. Ogres were well-known to be rather partial to the colour gold.  
  
So, on a bright summer's day, young Prince Matthew- or Matt as his friends would address him- set off to find further fame and glory, the hopes of a possible love conquest not far from his mind.  
  
The hopeful prince searched far and wide, following tips and snippets of advice he'd hear from neighbouring townsfolk or in the taverns he'd stay at when it got too dark to continue on his search for the day.  
  
After weeks, upon weeks, the young man having started to lose faith, he finally came upon a high and isolated tower, hidden in the middle of a strange and mystical old wood. He and his mount, tired from their travels, had never seen such a marvellous sight and so had set up camp; hidden in a small cave Matthew had located by a nearby stream, ever fearful of the reminded threat that the ogre still stood.  
  
His faithful steed, tethered and fed by their hideout, Matt decided to attempt a proper reconnaissance of what he still wasn't completely sure was the tower from the great tale. Mindful to remain well hidden and as quite as possible, he kept watch of the old spire, curtained with ivy and topped with a windy terracotta roof, nought but a small window high up above, to show any entrance into the otherwise solid stone tower.  
  
He did not have to wait long though, for just as he began to wonder if he should maybe not move forth and take a closer look, he spied a hooded figure break out into the small clearing, which headed straight toward the grand, old spire.  
  
With curious awe, the raven-haired man watched as the dark figure called out "Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your long golden hair!" And to his amazement down tumbled seemingly endless locks of honey-gold hair, straight out from the tiny window way up high. He was only then further astounded, when the robed silhouette- who he realised now could only be the ogre- began to ascend the plaits and strands of spun gold.  
  
Thoroughly amazed and bewitched by it all, the prince waited patiently until he witnessed the long hair appear once more out the tiny lookout, to allow the ogre passage down to earth once more. Then he waited patiently some more, to be absolutely certain that the ogre had made his leave and would not return soon.  
  
Satisfied at last, stomach a flutter with the thrill of excitement and apprehension, he now made for the tower himself.  
  
"Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your long golden hair!" he called, having decided to copy the ogre's words, and was not disappointed when the tumbles of golden locks came flooding out of the high window above and to his waiting form.  
  
Nerves of curiosity and pure, unadulterated thrill coursing through his veins, the eager prince got a good hold on the shining hair and began to scale up it, near faint with excitement by the time he finally reached the small windowsill at the end of the gravity-defying ascent.  
  
When he got a good foothold and managed to scramble through the turret window and looked through into the large, circular room, he spotted the owner of the immensely lengthy hair, sitting, back facing him, and plaiting the golden locks in what could only be described as a bored manor.  
  
"How many times must I ask that you not call me that? My name's not Dominic for nothing," grumbled a decidedly masculine voice, causing Matt to freeze in his place before the open window.  
  
The lack of the accustomed gruff voice of the ogre made the blonde turn, alerting Matthew of two facts. Firstly that, the 'Dominic' character was most definitely not the expected fair maiden, but instead another young man; and second, that his gender had nothing to do with anything, the prince could already feel himself falling hard and fast for the long-haired beauty.  
  
It was as if a shared spark was ignited and the two were left to simply gaze on at one another in silence, both their minds and mouths having lost all functioning abilities.  
  
For Matt it wasn't exactly a huge shock that another man should catch his fancy so, as the young prince had never been too precise in his past dealings with desire; he'd simply just always assumed that the stolen child had been a small girl, the copious amounts of golden hair- which even now surrounded the room- hadn't helped to stop the damsel in distress stereotype from asserting itself either.  
  
For Dominic however, just simply laying eyes on another human being for the first time in over two decades was enough to drive him to stunned silence. And then for his unexpected guest to be so dashing and suave; the poor blonde hadn't stood a chance.  
  
Not many believe in love at first sight, but when dealing with a fairy tale, one must remember all is possible and true, and for these two? Well the moment their eyes had met, their fates and futures had been sealed.  
  
"W-who, who are you?" Dominic asked the mysterious brunette, who had simply impersonated the foul ogre and tricked him into letting him up into the sanctity of his secluded confinement. Not that the blonde really minded truth be told.  
  
"The same might be asked of you; for was it not said that a fair maiden was held at the mercy of the foul ogre, not one such as...well such as yourself?" Matthew asked, rather than reply, for what did it matter who he was? It was the fair blonde before him that he wished to know more about.  
  
"Excuse me, but I do believe I asked about you first: who might you be, one with skin fairer than my own, although I have spent my days locked away in here? And are you displeased that it is I who sit here before you and not this fair maiden you speak of?" Dominic responded, looking straight at the prince with his deep grey eyes.  
  
The prince, entranced by the stare, found himself slowly approaching closer, eager to get a better look of this golden Adonis with hair like spun gold. "I-I am Matthew, prince and second son of those most high in these lands. I had come to rescue a fair maiden, but, to answer your question, I most certainly am not displeased with having found you instead. If anything I feel as though an unknown- until now- weight has been lifted from my chest and sent your way."  
  
Dominic, equally entrapped by the prince's stunning azure eyes, found himself rising to his feet, to help close the last of the distance that stood between them.  
  
"So do you still intend to follow through with your grand, heroic rescue, or have things changed since you found it to be me instead?" Dominic asked, his warm breath caressing the prince's lily-coloured skin.  
  
"Oh, if anything I am simply more eager now, though I do believe it is customary for the hero to receive some sort of token of appreciation in return," Matthew replied, a sudden swell of daring taking hold of him, as he brushed aside one of the shorter strands of golden hair which fell in the other man's face, blocking the view of his captivating grey eyes.  
  
"Oh, is it?" Dominic asked, his voice hitching in his throat as the prince's fingers brushed against his cheek. "And what might I be able to do for you, Matthew?"  
  
"Please, call me Matt, Dom- if I might be so bold as to call you so," Matthew replied, taking in how the blonde's breathing was speeding up and the way he shivered when Matt allowed their skin to touch. "As for the token of thanks? Well I doubt much would compare to a kiss from one quite so fair as yourself. After all, what were lips as lush as yours made for, if not to be tasted?"  
  
To this, the blonde was rather overcome with a foreign sensation of heated flutters in his lower belly, most unused and unaccustomed to such flattery and forwardness.  
  
But the prince's advances seemed to rub off on Dom and he soon found himself playing along, even though he had not much practise in these areas. All he knew of proper socialising with fellow human beings had come from the numerous books- which were his only company in the lonely tower- that lined the large room's walls, and so too had come his single source and reference in dealing with romance...  
  
"Oh, only a kiss? My, how modest and noble you are, brave Prince," he drawled, long eyelashes fluttering away and surprising both Matt and himself. "For I would gladly give you far more."  
  
His turn for his breath to hitch, the prince marvelled at the untold wonders he might share with the handsome blonde before him. "Well...I aim to serve and rescue, and of course as your prince, well it would only be descent of me to fulfil _all_ your needs in welcoming you to true freedom."  
  
Impressed with his quick recovery and easy charm, Matthew chose then to close the last of the distance between them and finally gift Dominic with the first of no doubt many passionate kisses which he planned on gifting the angelic being he'd only just met.  
  
Still new and inexperienced, Dom fell eagerly into the prince's embrace, his heart racing and breathing laboured when Matt finally pulled away to admire the man in his arms and wonder at the seemingly never-ending, silken locks that brushed against his own heating skin and draped over Dominic's bold shoulders, which were hidden beneath a cloak of sorts.  
  
"Your skin, I wish to see more, would you grant me the divine pleasure of seeing you in your natural state?" Matthew's voice whispered into Dominic's ear, as the prince combed away the hair falling over it to teasingly nibble at the earlobe beneath.  
  
Overwhelmed and still thrilled to eager excitement of the prospect of baring himself to someone as glorious as the young prince, Dominic found his head nodding away in reply, even before the realisation of what the prince's request would surely lead to had even settled in his pure- yet well versed mind. Matthew grinned wolfishly at Dom's eagerness, as his tongue began to trace the curves of the blonde's ear and a hand raised to pull at the cords of Dominic's robe.  
  
Wishing to gain back a bit of composure though and not come across as completely easy, Dominic managed to find speech once more. "Wait a moment, Prince _Matt_ , why do you not reveal yourself to me as well then?" he asked, his hand over the prince's enthusiastic one, thus halting Matthew's progress.  
  
"Ah, but of course I plan to. I just wish to gaze upon your flesh first, but then you may have your own fill of all I have to offer," stunned by his own words along with the blonde, Matthew felt his sharp cheekbones begin to colour. He had never been so openly giving to any lover that had come before.  
  
Dominic, a similar shade of pink, swiftly began to undo and slip down the only barrier between him and the prince's sharp, blue gaze. The ocean-coloured eyes in question only proved to darken and liquefy all the more, as more and more of the long-haired beauty's skin was revealed, until at last he was laid bare for the first time before someone else.  
  
Dominic feeling strangely bold in his state of undress, approached the prince once more, the long waves of blonde hair trailing behind him like that of a new bride's train. Matthew, for perhaps one of the first times ever, found himself speechless, the sight of the beautiful man's divine, smooth skin, so open and just for his own pleasure, took full control of all his conscious thoughts.  
  
"And now, where has all your shameless bravado and boldness gone? I was under the impression that you were going to be showing _me_ true freedom?" Dominic asked, laying his hand, palm down, on the prince's chest and feeling the way Matthew's heart was suddenly speeding rather quickly. "Or would you rather I lead?"  
  
Finally snapping to and giving his dazed head a good shake, Matthew smirked cunningly at the blonde, enjoying Dom's own sudden boldness.  
  
"Oh, I'll do the honours alright, Rapunzel." And with that he too began to strip of his garments, shedding his jacket and leather belt in a matter of seconds.  
  
"I ask that you kindly refrain from referring to me as such, else this thing we seem to have developing at quite the pace will indeed come to rather an abrupt halt," Dominic finally responded, his nose having wrinkled at the much disliked nickname. He also chose to use it as a distraction from the fact that he was about to be in the presence of not just another human- whom he'd only also just met- but in a state of equal nakedness with him. Not to mention what else he'd only ever secretly dreamed about happening up here in his lonesome tower.  
  
The prince now down to just his trousers, could not prevent the self-satisfied grin that came to play along his thinly divine lips, as his eyes closely studied the blonde's reaction to the ever increasing expanse of ivory skin he was laying on display to those pools of appreciative grey.  
  
"Like what you see, Rapunzel?" he couldn't resist with a tease, his hands having come to a rest on his low-pushed trousers' fastenings.  
  
At this Dominic just pushed forward the last few steps and forced the prince against the tower room's wall, forcing the happily surprised brunette's arms above his head forcefully with one hand and finishing the job of undoing the rest of the irksome trousers' fastening and opening them up to reveal something he'd previously only been able to dream of.  
  
"Now I believe I do," he smiled, before licking up a long line from the prince's navel all the way to the ditch at the base of that pale throat with his damp tongue. "But your taste is all the more exquisite."  
  
Utterly blindsided by this unexpected side of the once seemingly shy and naïve blonde, Matthew was left to just gape back stunned like a fish out of water.  
  
"What, you had expected I would be completely clueless? Well I've certainly had enough time alone here, to imagine and dream..." Dominic explained, biting down nervously on his full bottom lip. Had he moved too quickly for his dashing hero?  
  
"I cannot lie, I am rather surprised, but," Matthew replied, taking hold of the control again and pushing back Dominic, so that he could rid himself completely of his undone trousers. "I can assure you that I couldn't be more pleased with this unexpected development."  
  
"Well then, what are we waiting for, Prince?" Dominic grinned cheekily, just before Matthew grabbed hold of his arm and pulled him over to the neatly made four poster tucked away to the side, framed with fine, thin draping. "My, you really are an eager one!"  
  
"Oh, you haven't even begun to realise, my dear," Matthew winked back, before pushing the blonde down onto the bed, whose long, golden hair fanned around them, creating a bed on its own for the two soon-to-be lovers. Before Dominic could respond however, Matthew had already sealed his lips with his own, in a kiss marked by desire and filled with both of their extreme excitement.  
  
The moment was temporarily broken though, when the blonde began to giggle at the sensation of the prince's erection jabbing into his hip. The whole experience still a first, he couldn't help but find it somewhat amusing, which only seemed to rub off on Matt, who instead of getting annoyed, just laughed along and began to shower his new acquaintance with tender kisses, which travelled down Dom's silken torso. Before he looked up into those grey eyes with a cheeky glint in his own azure ones, and preceded to move on to rubbing their equally excited members together; which resulted in an end to the giggles and caused them both to moan out loud.  
  
"Wow, this- this is amazing..." Dominic managed to gasp, as the prince shamelessly moved on to begin grinding properly into him.  
  
"And it is about to become even better," Matthew replied, before proceeding to suck on the blonde's pulse point, after having moved aside some long strands of hair which were in the way.  
  
"Will it not be too painful? I've read that...well..." Dominic asked, though under the siege of that clever little mouth he found himself caring less and less about any possible pain.  
  
"Oh, I shall be sure to make it the single most pleasurable moment of your life," Matthew replied simply, as he ceased his actions and instead raised himself up and took hold of Dominic's hips. "Now would you mind kindly turning over? I wish to show you something most...divine, which will also serve to help ease any of the initial pain."  
  
Eager to learn and experience whatever the prince wished to show him, the blonde gladly rolled onto his front, only for Matthew to pull his hips up and thus result in his bum being raised.  
  
A sudden sense of insecurity washed over him, the new position making him feel even more exposed and vulnerable to whatever the prince saw fit to do to him. Dominic was simply the patient receiver of whatever would come. So, stomach twisting in anxious knots, he closed his eyes and couldn't help from tensing up a bit, that is until he felt something completely and utterly alien to him, something which seemed to act like a switch in calming his nerves and properly opening him up to the strange new advances of the prince. Only pleasure was left tingling in every inch of his being and gone was the brief spell of trepidation and anxiety.


	2. Chapter 2

The prince couldn't help grinning smugly at himself as he felt the gorgeous blonde fall apart with his touch. Granted he didn't do this for anyone, he still felt rather chuffed and proud that he'd decided to grant Dominic this and make him the exception, after all he was hardly having a horrible time himself.  
  
"I-Is that your-your _tongue?_ " Dominic finally managed to achieve, as Matthew drew back a bit.  
  
"Indeed it is," he replied, perhaps a little smugness present in his tone, before granting the cleft before him another teasing swipe of his pink tongue. "Why, do you not like it? For I will stop if you wish."  
  
"No!" The word just burst out of the blonde, causing him to blush, before he managed to regain hold of his manors. "Um, uh, no, no, that won't be necessary. Please, continue, never had I ever imagined- _ungh!!_ "  
  
Taking Dominic's sudden response as a most encouraging sign, the prince had properly parted the two perfect cheeks with his thumbs to allow him better access, before proceeding to properly breach through the tight ring of muscle with his tongue.  
  
Dominic couldn't help but marvel at the unexpectedly astounding sensation of that incredible tongue exploring him oh so intimately, causing every nerve to feel as though it were exploding. His mouth having fallen open as soon as his defences had been broken through, meaningless babble left to flow freely from his full, kiss-swollen lips.  
  
Matthew too had found himself being overwhelmed in only the most amazing of ways by the whole experience, everything so intense and incredibly intimate, that he had to actually come to a stop. He dragged the soft muscle of his tongue through Dominic's cleft and up along his lower back, before he began to moved himself up along the blonde's silky skin, his tongue dragging over the heated flesh, hands brushing golden hair aside, as he went.  
  
"And you had said I tasted good," Matthew eventually sighed, draping his body over Dominic's, his heart's thudding easily felt by the blonde as he rested there out of breath and tried to recover from the unexpectedly intense experience.  
  
"But I told the truth," Dominic said, finding his voice first, along with his bid for some of the control, as he pushed the brunette off of him gently and onto his back, so that Dominic could mount his thin waist.  
  
"Ah, but your taste...well, why don't you kiss me and find out for yourself?" Matthew ventured, gazing up at the stunning blonde above him, golden hair cascading down his shoulders and all around the prince like a curtain, effectively shutting the two off from everything else. For all they were aware of now, the world consisted only of the two of them.  
  
Only too happy to oblige, Dominic eagerly bent down and untied their mouths in a deep kiss once more, the new edge to the kiss definitely strange, yet not completely unwelcome to the blonde. Their kissing then only intensified, the two becoming lost to one another, until Dom finally managed to separate from the prince.  
  
"So, good sir, are you going to fulfil your duty as my rescuer, by freeing me completely and helping me to experience 'true freedom'?" he asked, climbing off Matthew and laying down next to him, brushing his hair, that was beginning to stick to his neck, back and letting the waves of it which had managed to join them on the bed, tumble down off the end. "I am ready and waiting, only for you. Always have been, just for you."  
  
At this, sudden warmth worked its way through the prince, something which was most definitely different from the burning desire which undeniably raged within him too. Always only too happy to please and be flattered, Matthew shook his head to compose himself once more, before he assumed the previous stance of the blonde- only now it was he who sat atop Dominic.  
  
"And I have been waiting for one such as yourself, I am unspeakably delighted that in the end it was your golden self whom I happened upon," he purred, long, pale fingers then caressed along Dominic's cheek, his eyelids fluttering at the heartfelt gesture and statement. "My only wish now, is to make you happy."  
  
"Then, dear Prince, why not take me now?"  
  
Satisfied that his tongue had done all the preparation he could do for the other man, Matthew simply nodded in reply before spitting into his palm- still managing to look amazingly regal as he did so, to Dominic's utter astonishment- and slicking up his impatiently neglected length.  
  
"I'm afraid that this may likely still hurt, but I assure you the pain will soon subside," Matthew soothed, nudging the blonde's lean thighs further apart. Dominic just nodded, dying to finally be even closer to the fabulous being who had so unexpectedly shown up to disrupt his lonely life.  
  
And just like that, one last reassuring kiss placed on the blonde's lips, and Matthew finally pushed forward, carefully and slowly, taking in the way Dominic's breath hitched, until he was fully sheathed within the indescribably tight, warm heat Dominic's body provided.  
  
"Are you still fine, Dom?" he cautiously asked, brushing away golden strands off the blonde's face, so that their eyes could properly meet. His own body was definitely still fine, still fine and so much more, never in his life had he ever felt something quite as wonderful.  
  
Panting slightly, Dominic gazed up into the darkened-blue eyes above him, filled with so much kindness and genuine concern. Trying his best not to grimace, the foreign feeling rather uncomfortable at best, he nodded to the prince. "Yes, please, just move, Matt."  
  
Understanding taking hold of his mind, Matthew nodded back before he began to slowly withdraw, only to plunge back in. "Like that, are you sure this is alright?"  
  
"Yes, Matthew, please, don't worry so, try to go harder and deeper? I am a man, not a delicate flower, you won't break me," Dominic smiled up at the other man, touched by his tentative caring, as he lifted a hand to bring the prince's mouth down to his own, so that they could kiss again.  
  
"Of course, I only wish to bring you pleasure," Matthew breathed, pulling out of the kiss, and started to work up a better rhythm.  
  
Dominic had begun to wonder if he'd spent years fantasising over all this, only for sex to turn out to be more painful than anything else, when Matthew suddenly hit something within him that set his entire body alight with indescribable pleasure, the previously warm fuzzing in his lower stomach now positively burning away.  
  
The blonde's cry of ecstasy brought forth a sense of encouragement and renewed enthusiasm to Matthew, who couldn't resist anymore and so latched onto Dominic's collarbone with his mouth, sucking the succulent skin, as his hips performed their magic, making Dom cry out more, as he ran his own hands down the brunette's silky back.  
  
"Oh, heaven above, thank you, Matthew, thank you, Matthew, Matthew, Matthew..." Dominic cried, a mantra of the prince's name tumbling from his panting mouth, as his body went into a sensory overload of pleasure.  
  
"Dominic, wait until you climax, then you can thank me," Matt smiled down at the blonde beneath him, who had thrown his head back and was clutching on tightly to the prince's shoulders, his fingers digging deeply into the supple, pale flesh.  
  
Blissed out features slackened and his entire being laid out completely to Matthew, Dominic opened his lust-filled, grey eyes and moaned wantonly, the prince now allowing him no reprieve, determined to gain his thanks in ernest.  
  
"That's it, Dom, moan for me, your voice is the most divine thing I have ever had the privilege to experience. Let me make your world explode in ecstasy," Matt drawled, as his hand wrapped around the other man's erection and he began to tug him the rest of the way over the edge, while his hips did their best to keep up their pace, the prince's own climax fast approaching.  
  
Eventually, unable to hold back anymore, everything having become just too much for him to handle anymore, Dominic was sent spiralling into something he could only conceive as a dream-like state of pure completion, his mind sent spinning and his body being flooded with wave after wave of potent pleasure.  
  
Matthew managed to witness the blonde's closed eyes snap open and expand incredibly, before they rolled back into his head and he let out a sound which could only be described as pure eroticism. The sight and then the wet warmth of Dominic's satisfaction naturally triggered his own climax of pleasure, knocking the prince for a loop, as he reached such an extreme sense of elation that his own eyes too rolled back and he was sure he blacked out momentarily.  
  
  
When at last Matthew managed to return to his senses, body burning hot and flushed with a film of glistening moisture and chest rapidly rising and falling, he found himself once again mounted by the blonde and surrounded by a curtain of gold, Dominic showering his heated skin with kisses of satisfaction and pure adoration.  
  
Matthew couldn't help the blush which bloomed on his chiselled cheekbones, for he had seemingly fallen harder than the golden-haired man, who unlike him, was far less experienced.  
  
Noticing Matt was once more coherent, Dominic gazed up along the lines of the prince's torso to his face, his long eyelashes fluttering with grateful bashfulness when blue met his grey. "Thank you," he eventually whispered and placed a tender kiss over where the prince's heart was finally beginning to calm.  
  
"There is definitely something very special about you," Matthew managed to breathe, gazing with wonder filling his lazy-blue eyes, his right hand pulling Dom's head up for a slow, sweet kiss. "I shall just have to keep you," he added with a small smile, which made the blonde's heart soar, before he playfully pecked Matt's nose.  
  
                                                                                                ><><><><><><><  
  
Like all good things though, their coupling had to come to an end and the two had to properly discuss logistics and Dominic's great escape from the ogre's clutches and the terribly tall tower.  
  
Eventually they agreed on Matthew going off in search of a ladder, Dominic's hair being the only means of entrance into the turret and the blonde not ready to part with his golden mane just yet, the ladder would be needed if he ever hoped to walk the earth once more to join Matt in the outside world.  
  
So with an aching heart of longing, the prince kissed his new heart goodbye the following morning, the previous night having been filled with their plotting and yet more love making, both men amazed at the speed in which they'd managed to fall for the other. He would have loved to have stayed longer, but knew the threat of the ogre returning was too great, so bid his farewells, promising to return with haste to his golden god.  
  
He descended through the small window then and down the seemingly never ending locks of honey-coloured hair, the blonde anxiously watching from above, tightly gripping his hair.  
  
Sadly though, the two lovers' separation was not in private, for the ogre, having had a whiff of suspicion in his gut, had returned early and managed to catch sight of the prince making his climb down Dominic's golden-locks. The ogre's golden locks.  
  
He patiently waited, hidden behind a bush, until he was completely positive the thief- well in his eyes- had made good and true on his exit, before he went to call for the blonde to throw that stream of hair out for him to climb now too.  
  
                                                        

                                       ><><><><><><><><

Barely having taken two days, Matthew finally managed to return to his beloved, long rope ladder rolled up and slung on his back.

The excitement and thrill of being united with the one who dominated all his thoughts- both in wake and slumber- bubbled up inside of him, as he approached the foot of the tower.

It was with a joyous heart and a knowing smirk that he called up to the small window above, "Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your long golden hair!" His heart practically leapt with joy when the silken main tumbled down toward him, and he gripped it with a sure hand as he began his ascent, body buzzing with delight.

When he got to the top however, as those who are familiar with this well-known tale will have already established, it was not the good, kind-hearted Dominic he found, but rather the fearsome ogre, lying in wait for the unprepared and unarmed prince.

"Where is Dominic, what have you done with him?!" Matthew demanded, his very world crashing around him as he saw the seemingly endless lengths of golden hair, but saw that an end after all had been clearly established, no longer attached to his lover's head, but now neatly cut and tied to one of the posts of Dominic's four poster bed.

"He disobeyed me and allowed _you_ entrance into the sanctity of this tower, which you violated with your sinful actions and then proceeded to try and steal my gold. It also helped me to realise though, that he was just a dead weight, I have more then enough to surround me now, and now have to do none of the work to maintain it. I also have put an end to his endless complaining," the ogre replied simply, running his gnarled fingers along some of the golden strands of hair which were still draped around the room, but the lack of their true owner's presence, just made their once delightfully sunny effect turn into something morbid and tainted.

Matthew stared on in horror, his heart feeling like it had been shattered into a billion tiny pieces. Now that he had met Dominic, his life was simply not complete without the blonde at his side.

"Y-you, killed him?" he finally managed to ask in what sounded more like a choked gasp. "You vile, cretinous snake, I shall have your head for-"

But the prince's outburst was cut off when the ogre raised his hand to silence him. "Be quite, boy. The insolent little fool is still very much alive, sadly. I have only freed him of what I wanted and then set him lose into the forest below, leaving him to search, completely lost."

"H-he's alive?!"

"Yes, he is. And you'll soon be joining him-" Matthew interrupted though, to overcome with the relief at hearing all was not lost.

"I will? I can just leave and search for him? I promise never to return, you may keep all his hair, I just want him, I-"

"Ah, but you didn't let me finish. Patience, boy. It goes a long way," the ogre silenced the confused prince once more. "You cannot possibly believe that I would simply just let you go scot-free? I can't now go and ruin a reputation that has been decades in the making, plus you need to learn a lesson: no one steals what is mine."

Matt nervously swallowed and looked around, there was a broom nearby, perhaps if he could grab it just in time he would be able to-

Suddenly the prince was struck in the face with some of the ogre's special magic dust- one of the few perks to being an ogre I suppose- as the ogre had been waiting with it curled up in his left fist the entire time.

Coughing and spluttering, the last thing Matthew saw as he began to black out, his eyesight failing rapidly, was the cloud of purple mist, which seemed to dance around him tauntingly, as if taking delight in the prince's utter despair, before he finally hit the ground like a rock, the ogre's cackle ringing in his ears.

And then, the prince was surrounded by black nothingness.

                                                                                            ><><><><><><><><><

Days, weeks, months, years, Matthew wasn't sure, his sense of time long since having left him, along with his previously much taken a granted for sight and, although he might not be fully aware of the fact, a good deal of his sanity too.

Instead he now spent his days wondering the woods, searching for his not-to-be forgotten love, foraging berries for food and simply just blindly searching, day after day.

He searched and searched, his lack of sight only adding to the tremendous task of ever finding Dominic, his spirit broken and torn, all hope and faith having departed with most of his mind too. Yet he still kept at it, driven by something deep within, a man deranged he knew he would never be able to stop until he could hold his soul mate once more in his arms.

For that was what he had discovered. The only thing he had over this undistinguished passage of time. Was that Dominic was his soul mate, the reason for his being and for why they had instantly connected after only that first meeting of grey upon blue. Without Dom, he was no longer whole.

He didn't know it, but Dominic too wondered the forest in search of his prince and often frustratingly nearby to one another, they would simply still never cross paths, the fates smiling cruelly at their estranged separation.

One day though, the blonde's hair having re-grown out into a thick mop of honey-gold hair, he happened upon the sight of a slovenly figure, barely still a man, his dark hair wild and untamed, a beard masking most of his face and his ragged clothing in dire need of seeing to, who was blindly stumbling and fell into a small, ankle-deep stream which happened to pass through the area they were in.

Puzzled by the bizarre sight, yet his ever descent heart grabbing his interest, Dominic rushed over to help, his own troubles leaving his thoughts for the first time in what he swore was ages.

In the countless amount of time he'd wondered the forrest for, doomed to remain lost, he had never once crossed paths with another and, however desperate and sad it sounded, he was pleased to meet with another human being. Though to call the pitiful... _creature_ that, was rather an optimistic outlook.

"You there, may I assist you?" he asked, before finally reaching the man, who had seemingly just decided to give up and remain lying in the shallow water.

At the sound of Dominic's voice though, his head lifted up, alerted in the direction he heard the blonde's careful treads splashing through the water from.

Getting a closer look now, Dom looked on with pity at the wide, misty and clearly unseeing eyes, which stared eerily up at him.

"D-Dom-Dominic, i-is that, is that you?" the shaky, unsure question hit the blonde for a spin. Why he knew that voice! Granted it sounded weaker and shakier now, but...but it could only be the voice of his once confident, dashing prince!

"Matthew? Matthew, could it be?!" he called out as he ran, splashing the last few metres.

He then crouched down and pulled who could truly only be Matthew- his Matthew- up a bit out of the water, resting his shaggy head of hair on his lap.

"Matthew, why the state of you!" Dom cried, pulling twigs and leaves from the unkempt, dark hair which hid what he knew to be beautifully prominent and chiselled features.

Matthew only muttered unintelligible things, more to himself really, babbling about whatever and how he was looking for his golden god.

"What has happened to you, what did he do to you, my dear sweet prince?" Dominic sobbed, tears tumbling down his face, the sight of Matthew's once enchantingly sapphire-blue eyes, now a misty white and sickly grey, was what had finally done it. What had broken him at last, dousing at the last of the hope he had tried so desperately to hold onto after all this time. Where was his bold and seductive lover, why had Matthew had to be punished so? And for something which was not even his fault!

Everything felt unfair, the world cruel and laughing at his pain. At their pain.

The tears wouldn't stop, as Dominic knelt their in the chilly stream, not feeling the cold nor the dampness seeping into his tatty robe, while he continued to stroke the side of Matthew's face or brush aside his wild hair tenderly.

All seemed lost and hopeless. What was he to do now? He could not and would not leave Matthew, but the man seemed out of his mind. How was he to care for someone like this? He had never lived out there in the world before. He also knew he'd remain hopelessly lost in the maize of trees they were surrounded by.

He needed Matthew's help and guidance. He needed Matthew's love and humour. He needed Matthew.

This was all his fault, if only he had parted sooner with his stupid hair, why had he not-

"Dom, is that actually you, or am I just hallucinating again?"

He had almost missed it over the sound of his hopeless sobbing, the steady flow of tears blocking his vision and the soft weakness of Matthews voice not helping either. But he had heard it.

"Dom, don't cry," the voice spoke again, a hand then reached up to brush away the tears trailing down the blonde's cheeks. "You found me."

"M-Matthew? But-but, only a moment ago you were a babbling mess and your-your eyes, your eyes were like that of a mole's: blind and sightless. Yet, yet now they are warm and blue once more?" Dominic marvelled, not believing what he was witnessing, the prince still cradled on his lap, seemed to now suddenly resemble his former self- plus a bit of added scruff and facial hair.

"It was the ogre, he cursed me and I was beginning to lose my mind with despair, but you found me. You found me, Dom, and you saved me," Matthew smiled, tears welling up in his own eyes now as he got up to look eye-to-eye with his love and saviour. "I was meant to be your rescuer and prince, yet it was you who saved me. You who are _my_ prince."

At this, both men's eyes leaking, but now with joy, they finally brought their lips together, at last uniting in their freedom and long awaited unity.

"Let us never part again," Matthew eventually breathed, the first to break the lengthy and passionate kiss. His mind less fogged and vision clear once more, the love in Dominic's tears having broken the ogre's spiteful curse.

"Never," Dominic vowed, the two resting their foreheads together. "But also promise me something else."

"What? I will do anything for you, you only have to ask."

"Shave and never grow a beard again."

"But I put up with your countless metres of hair!" the prince argued, hurt by the blonde's words as he self-consciously scratched the beard in question.

"Ah, but you loved it too, come on, I may not have known you for long, but you cannot lie to me," Dom reasoned. "Admit it, you miss it."

"Hmm, perhaps, only a bit, and that is just because I simply love everything of yours," the prince conceded, not really wishing to argue with his long-lost love, earning him another long, dreamy kiss.

                                                                                               ><><><><><><><><><

Together, the prince and Dominic found their way home, where they were welcomed with open arms, to grand celebrations, both now legends and heroes. They soon were united in marriage and continued to live out their days happily in the quite, peaceful kingdom, for it was the older prince who had to continue the royal line and the king and queen were only too happy to have their youngest happy and home once more.

Matthew was never bored again and neither man desired to leave the tranquillity of their life together in their beautiful home by the sea. They could often be spotted spending their days walking along the coastline, sand between their toes and hand in hand, forever lost in each other's eyes.

Travellers from far and wide would come seek audience with the pair, hoping to hear of their tale from the two famous men themselves, and Matthew would only be too pleased to recount how he had met his own prince and had never looked back since. The blonde helping to adjust the brunette's storytelling every now and then when he would begin to get a little too carried away and add in scenes with him battling fierce, fire-breathing dragons and such, to reach his shining, golden beauty.

As for the gold-hoarding ogre? Well he too lived happily, secluded in his hidden tower, lost in the middle of the mystical woods, where he could roll around in all the golden hair he wanted.


End file.
